Buzzword Soup | UCasS, Unified Communications as a Service

As part of our continuing series “Buzzword Soup,” every so often we explore a popular term in the cloud and communications industries. Because many terms are used loosely by vendors, analysts and commentators, we find it helpful to draft simple English, non-technical explanations for words and phrases that might otherwise be confusing or misunderstood. This week, we explore “UCaaS.”

What is it?

The acronym UCaaS stands for Unified Communications as a Service. UCaaS typically includes a suite of unified communications features such as; find me/follow me, voice mail to email transcription, softphones, electronic faxing, presence, instant messaging, video chat, screen sharing, file sharing and others. UCaaS differs from traditional unified communications because it is delivered via the cloud and is usually sold on a per seat/per month model. No hardware installation is required and business continuity and a consistent service experience are built in.

How is it used?

UCaaS solutions are implemented to improve communication flow, enable mobility and save time. For example, UCaaS allows an employee to seamlessly collaborate with another person on a project, even if they are on opposite sides of the country. A user can easily and quickly find the required coworker by accessing an interactive directory, engage in an instant messaging session, and if necessary escalate the session to a voice call, or even a video chat. Or imagine that a support representative gets a call from a customer who needs fast answers. UCaaS enables the representative to see which expert is not on another call and reach out for help. This way, the representative can help the customer faster by eliminating unnecessary phone-tag or waiting for an email response.

M5’s Take

M5 Unified Communications Suite is the easiest to use cloud-based communication service for companies that want to focus on their business instead of the business of running a communications platform. Based on our cloud phone system, M5 streamlines communications and also integrates with business data to provide business intelligence so that customers can increase sales, customer satisfaction, or operational efficiencies in extraordinary ways. In fact, M5 has been recognized by Gartner as a Visionary in the Unified Communications as a Service Magic Quadrant.

We offer a complete bundle that doesn’t ignore the most important modality today: voice. M5 customers do not need to implement, configure, train, integrate, maintain, or upgrade their UCaaS systems, because running a communications system isn’t their business, it’s ours.

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Client Testimonials

ShoreTel has helped keep our NYC Office up and running during the darkest days we have experienced.

William Silliman, VP of IT & Development National Holdings Corp

We have a large number of employees who travel from site to site. They enjoy the fact that they can take their phone numbers with them so they don’t have to rely on cell coverage or forward calls to a different number. Users simply log into a phone at any of our sites and it’s automatically programmed to them.

Tony Hakes, Help Desk Supervisor Sotera Defense Solutions

Because we have a managed phone system, all I have to do is call ShoreTel to order the new phones and use the online portal to send them programming requests that they complete offsite. That’s a huge time and cost saver for our IT staff and ensures phones are customized and working quickly.

Vida Shaver, IT Manager Cargo Airport Services

Prior to ShoreTel Sky, we assumed that we couldn’t use a customer service representative for two jobs without sacrificing phone coverage. Once we saw the data, we realized that it was in fact, possible.